By Derek Wallbank | Bloomberg
US President Donald Trump denied a report by the New York Times that said Elon Musk will be briefed on Friday about the American military’s contingency planning for any potential war with China.
The Times, which cited multiple unidentified US officials familiar with the plans, said Musk would see details of American plans in a presentation led by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and top US military leaders. Any such briefing would expose some of the Pentagon’s closest-guarded strategic thinking to a billionaire with extensive business ties in China.
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The Wall Street Journal also reported Musk would receive a briefing on US plans for a potential China war, citing people familiar. The Journal cited one of the people as saying Musk was getting the briefing because he asked for one. The Washington Post separately reported that Musk was to get an unclassified briefing focused on the threat posed by China.
In a social media post late Thursday, Trump said the Times report was “ridiculous” and “completely untrue.” Trump added that “China will not even be mentioned or discussed.”
In a separate post, Hegseth confirmed that Musk would visit the Pentagon on Friday, but characterized as “fake news” claims that Musk would see top-secret operational plans. “It’s an informal meeting about innovation, efficiencies & smarter production,” Hegseth said in the post.
The reports underscore the unprecedented roles Musk holds across the heart of the US government and economy, all at the same time. A briefing of the type the Times described would raise questions about potential conflicts of interests Musk may have in the context of the top-secret information.
The Times pointed out that Musk, in one of his roles as the leader of Trump’s efforts to slash the size and reach of the US government, may need to know aspects of military plans to avoid proposing cuts to critical weapons system the Pentagon might rely on in any China conflict.
The Pentagon did not immediately return a request for further comment from Bloomberg. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell, in a statement to the Times, said that “the Defense Department is excited to welcome Elon Musk to the Pentagon on Friday. He was invited by Secretary Hegseth and is just visiting.”
Musk is one of Trump’s closest advisers, a billionaire backer who spent tens of millions of dollars to get him elected to the presidency again. In addition to his role leading the so-called Department of Government Efficiency effort to cut federal staffing and spending, Musk’s companies together hold billions in lucrative federal contracts, including with the Pentagon.
Musk, the world’s richest man, also has extensive business ties to China, including in his role as chief executive officer of Tesla Inc., which builds and sells tens of thousands of vehicles each month in the world’s largest electric vehicle market.
Although military tensions between the US and China have increased in recent years over Taiwan and territory in the South China Sea, there are no signs any war is imminent between the world’s biggest economies.
–With assistance from Courtney McBride and Nick Wadhams.
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